Here are tonight's Blue Chips...
*** I switched my FutureCast from Michigan to Boston College for Rivals250 Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep defensive lineman George Rooks a little more than a week ago. Since then, others on Rivals and elsewhere have followed suit. It's clear that Boston College is trending up with Rooks as signing day quickly approaches and confidence is growing from that camp. I still feel like Boston College will be the pick for Rooks, but Michigan is continuing to fight here. Rooks remains a Tier 1 prospect on the board, and the Wolverines are hopeful they can regain momentum in this race. He's the most realistic defensive tackle on the board right now, and we all know it would be a big deal to add him to the fold due to need.
*** Rooks is a quiet kid capable of doing anything, which is why I think Michigan is still plugging away — that and this staff never says never on the recruiting trail. Right now, he is expected to announce his decision on signing day, but we've seen this theme with Rooks over and over throughout the process. First it was August then September then Thanksgiving then last weekend and now, here we are. I wouldn't be surprised if Rooks once again balks at a decision. If he does go through with it, again, I feel like it will be BC. But Jim Harbaugh and company have been working on him regularly over the last couple of weeks. I'm told Rooks, who has been to Michigan more than any other school and had a sister play hoops at U-M, is hesitant with the Wolverines because of stability concerns.
*** It may seem like an extreme long shot on the surface, but I'm told that Michigan is still very much in the mix for five-star defensive lineman JT Tuimoloau, the nation's No. 6 overall recruit. U-M defensive line coach Shaun Nua, who has strong Polynesian ties, has been working on Tuimoloau hard since flying out to Seattle to see him before the dead period. Tuimoloau named Michigan in his Top 7 a couple of months ago, and I'm also told contact between him and Nua is still frequent. Harbaugh has been personally involved here as well. I also spoke to a source out in the Pacific Northwest, and he told me Tuimoloau is a very quiet kid that is giving all his top schools a fair chance. With all this said, I just don't think this one will happen. I have my FutureCast pick in for Ohio State, but Alabama, Washington and USC are other strong contenders. Tuimoloau will not make a decision until the late period, so I guess we'll see.
*** We haven't been able to catch up with two-star defensive line commit Dominick Giudice in a while, so I did some asking around about him. Out of all of Michigan's defensive line commits, Giudice is definitely the best fit at the three-tech. He added a lot of weight recently and is up to 277 pounds. From talking to those close to the Michigan program, the staff really liked what Giudice put on tape as a senior and are happy with his commitment. He is fully expected to sign with the Wolverines next week. As things stand right now, Giudice will lead the way at defensive tackle for U-M. TJ Guy could play there, but a lot will depend on his development in the S&C program.
*** Very quickly, former Miami defensive tackle commit Savion Collins has been linked to Michigan this week, but I'm told the Wolverines likely won't go down that road. I would expect Michigan to invest more time in the transfer portal after signing day and potentially add a defensive lineman. USC got the big fish today in Ishmael Sopsher but there are plenty of other available options and more names are likely to pop up as the season winds down.
*** I switched my FutureCast from Michigan to Boston College for Rivals250 Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep defensive lineman George Rooks a little more than a week ago. Since then, others on Rivals and elsewhere have followed suit. It's clear that Boston College is trending up with Rooks as signing day quickly approaches and confidence is growing from that camp. I still feel like Boston College will be the pick for Rooks, but Michigan is continuing to fight here. Rooks remains a Tier 1 prospect on the board, and the Wolverines are hopeful they can regain momentum in this race. He's the most realistic defensive tackle on the board right now, and we all know it would be a big deal to add him to the fold due to need.
*** Rooks is a quiet kid capable of doing anything, which is why I think Michigan is still plugging away — that and this staff never says never on the recruiting trail. Right now, he is expected to announce his decision on signing day, but we've seen this theme with Rooks over and over throughout the process. First it was August then September then Thanksgiving then last weekend and now, here we are. I wouldn't be surprised if Rooks once again balks at a decision. If he does go through with it, again, I feel like it will be BC. But Jim Harbaugh and company have been working on him regularly over the last couple of weeks. I'm told Rooks, who has been to Michigan more than any other school and had a sister play hoops at U-M, is hesitant with the Wolverines because of stability concerns.
*** It may seem like an extreme long shot on the surface, but I'm told that Michigan is still very much in the mix for five-star defensive lineman JT Tuimoloau, the nation's No. 6 overall recruit. U-M defensive line coach Shaun Nua, who has strong Polynesian ties, has been working on Tuimoloau hard since flying out to Seattle to see him before the dead period. Tuimoloau named Michigan in his Top 7 a couple of months ago, and I'm also told contact between him and Nua is still frequent. Harbaugh has been personally involved here as well. I also spoke to a source out in the Pacific Northwest, and he told me Tuimoloau is a very quiet kid that is giving all his top schools a fair chance. With all this said, I just don't think this one will happen. I have my FutureCast pick in for Ohio State, but Alabama, Washington and USC are other strong contenders. Tuimoloau will not make a decision until the late period, so I guess we'll see.
*** We haven't been able to catch up with two-star defensive line commit Dominick Giudice in a while, so I did some asking around about him. Out of all of Michigan's defensive line commits, Giudice is definitely the best fit at the three-tech. He added a lot of weight recently and is up to 277 pounds. From talking to those close to the Michigan program, the staff really liked what Giudice put on tape as a senior and are happy with his commitment. He is fully expected to sign with the Wolverines next week. As things stand right now, Giudice will lead the way at defensive tackle for U-M. TJ Guy could play there, but a lot will depend on his development in the S&C program.
*** Very quickly, former Miami defensive tackle commit Savion Collins has been linked to Michigan this week, but I'm told the Wolverines likely won't go down that road. I would expect Michigan to invest more time in the transfer portal after signing day and potentially add a defensive lineman. USC got the big fish today in Ishmael Sopsher but there are plenty of other available options and more names are likely to pop up as the season winds down.
